


Crown of Clovers

by Wristic



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Epic Friendship, Gen, Love, Magic, of the most magical kind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 12:37:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11578233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wristic/pseuds/Wristic
Summary: While the actual werewolves have their anchors, you seem to be the biggest for the whole pack. Despite the fact the supernatural has been kept a secret from you. However you might not be as out of the loop as you think.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was bright in your eyes, the perfect level to annoy you every time you looked up. So instead you kicked a few rocks on the sidewalk, waiting for your sign to say walk, and enjoying the fresh morning air.

Light clicks caught your ears but you didn’t bother to look as they drew close. This was a sidewalk after all.

“Such a lovely day today isn’t it?” looking to the man next to you, angled features against round blackened glasses, he was casually but not warmly dressed, the leftover cold from the night not bumping his pale skin in the least. There was an odd ease about him. You couldn’t explain it, but it was like a sense nothing was a danger, the world all soft edges and cotton candy. To others seeing someone look that way with a cane might inspire them in some pitying way. For some reason it made you uncomfortable. But you were a nice person, you could push down a wayward gut feeling.

You nodded back to the light, “It is.”

“A shame knowing it will end. Knowing the night will come and all the light will turn cold.” You looked at him, glad he couldn’t see the utter confusion in your face. First off it was a weird place to take small talk and second… was it just you or was that a bit threatening?

“Uh… yeah.” You coughed, begging for the light to change. “The night isn’t so bad though. It makes a good time to grab a blanket and see the stars.” You realized the last statement was a bit insensitive and corrected. “O-or enjoy some tea.” He at least smiled over your stumble. “It’s a good time to wind down.”

“Hm. A glass half full type then?”

You shrugged. “Someone’s gotta be.”

“It’s not so much a wonder then why they value you like they do.”

It only thrust you deeper into confusion. “They?”

“Your friends.”

The caution in your stomach brewing thicker made it hard to breath. “What do you know about my friends?”

He went to say something, pausing in the air as he thought. His brow curling but a smirk playing. “You don’t know… do you? Surely you’ve noticed. And you’ve never asked? Doesn’t it hurt to know they’ve been keeping things from you?”

You were taken back, stepping away from the aura of danger and looking to the light. It was changed but that didn’t make you feel anymore safe. Without answering him you crossed the street, watching as he didn’t. Instead his smile grew and he turned around the way he came. You stopped as your feet touched the opposite sidewalk. He only came to talk to you. He knew you’d be there. Holding your backpack a little closer, you ducked your head and continued to school.

It wasn’t the first time someone asked you that. However the types of people who asked were always like that. Pleasant at the surface, darkness shifting underneath. And yes, you had noticed the strangeness of your friends. You’d known Scott and Stiles since you were kids, you knew when they were lying. And these days it seemed that’s all they did. When Allison and Lydia came in the mix, starting out just as lost as you, only to be welcomed in the fold and start lying as well, you admit you were boiling with jealousy and betrayal.

Yet there was something in their eyes, all of them, even the complete strangers that would ‘happen’ upon you. When they came to you broken and exhausted, lost and frightened, when they looked at you with those awaiting eyes you caved every time.

Because when they came it was for guidance, to catch their breath from the secret. Something about you not knowing brought them this endless relief. Something about being alone with an ignorant you, talking in metaphors and pushing aside duty, it untangled them and they left just a little more alive. So you caved.

But how much danger were you in? How much danger were _they_ in? The thought kept you up most nights.

When you entered the front doors of the school they were easy to find. Huddled like usual around Scott’s locker, talking low and serious so the people around wouldn’t catch on. The man at the curb was still fresh in your mind, still running your heart with fear. They were in danger, they knew why, didn’t you deserve to know?

Then they turned. Allison jumped her big beautiful brown eyes to you and soon everyone else did. You took your last few steps to them, the question on your lips and they all greeted and smiled. Damn it, they smiled. They would lie to you over and over again but when they smiled at you it was the most genuine you’d ever seen. They needed you out of this circle, touching just at the very edge, but never in.

Your fear didn’t waver but the question melted away. You smiled back.

Scott was always the first to ask when you got like this, a hand on your shoulder. “Hey is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just some homeless guy after me this morning.” Not entirely a lie. If you counted ‘this morning’ as a few weeks ago and ‘after you’ as in you handed him the partner drink to a buy-two-for-one deal.

After doing a little catch up you went to class, surprised to find a new biology teacher. Jennifer Blake seemed leagues more friendly than the last one. Wherever he went.

During role call, when she got to you her voice drifted, not finishing your last name. She snapped up at you, jaw slacked and wide eyed. The shock bounced behind a smile and Ms. Blake caught you off guard with knowing your mother. “How is she these days? It’s been a long time since we last talked.”

“Uh, she’s good.” It was awkward suddenly being put on the spot by someone you were apparently supposed to know.

“You must be a very perceptive person.”

You looked around at the rest of the class waiting for your response. “… yeah I guess.” Feeling your face heat you wanted to crawl away. What was with people this morning?

Jennifer chuckled. “I’m only saying that because she was a very good counselor back in the day. One of the best, I used to be so jealous of her. Some of it had to of rubbed off on you…” There was a pause in there air and again, that annoying feeling of only knowing even half the story nagged you. Jennifer’s eyes began to droop in disappointment, “Did she not tell you?” You shook your head.

A cloud descended on her, “I see. That’s such a shame, she would have so much to teach you.”

With a renewing breath the placid smile jumped back on and she continued like nothing happened.

Glancing in Stiles and Scott’s direction, you three wordlessly conveyed your confusion through shrugs and weird faces. Deciding it was unimportant for now.


	2. Chapter 2

Washing dishes you glanced back at your mother relaxing in the living room. “Hey uh, do you know a Jennifer Blake?”

She didn’t think long before shaking her head with an inconsequential turn of her lips. “Never heard of her.”

“Hm…she knew you. Said you used to be a counselor?”

A heavy pause filled the air. “A counselor?”

“Yeah, she seemed like she knew what she was talking about.” Turning off the faucet and drying your hands, you came up to her. She was far off, brow wrinkled as she stared past the TV. The feeling of a familiar wall was creeping up, one that left you defeated before she even spoke. Just to test the waters, you pushed. She was your mother, surely she would be honest with you. “You never told me you were a counselor.”

She barely broke out, forcing a smile, “It was a long time ago. It was a pretty boring time, don’t worry about it.” She patted your arm, turning back to the TV to pretend she wasn’t disturbed by the news. You sighed, nodding to no one in particular.

Not being able to stay in the room any longer in fear you would burst with a million angry questions, you left to your room, not saying a thing, just like she wanted. As soon as you turned on the light you screamed only to fall into an annoyed catch for breath. You called out to your mother, “I’m fine, just a friend who can’t _give me a damn text before sneaking into my room and **scaring me half to death!**_ ”

You glared at a waiting Derek before shutting the door. The door may have clicked shut but Derek raised his brow to it instead of announcing what his visit was for. “You’re mom’s coming.”

“What?”

Soon enough the sound of running feet came and the door was swung open, your mother rushed with panic. You looked between him and her, perplexed by the reactions. This wasn’t the first time you were startled by visitors, and yet she was breathless and horror struck. And Derek, he was sitting further away and next to a running radio, it wasn’t loud but it would muffled more than it would for you.

You went to touch her and she flinched, she was like a cat with it’s hair raised. “Mom? This is Derek, remember, from work?”

She caught her breath before nodding, eyeing Derek one last time before shutting the door. You watched the wood, her scuffs on the floor fading when Derek brought you out. “Is she alright?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know much about the people around me these days.” you mumbled, hearing him scoff in a laugh. Sucking in the pain of it all you sighed, making your way over and sitting next to him on the bed. Stiles didn’t care for him and Scott warned you to be careful, but your gut said he was harmless. “You’re a rare sight.”

He was silent, the walls slowly decaying as his hands nervously rubbed together. You sat up a little straighter, scooting a little closer, his walls threatening to come back up by the worried look on you. “What happened?”

Instead of running away, you both knew he came for a reason, to say something. His head dropped and he admitted. “A friend of mine has been missing for awhile. I want to keep hoping I’ll see her again, tell everyone to keep hoping but… I can feel it… she’s dead.”

Derek always came with the heavy stuff. The weird stuff. A part of you had a strong feeling that if you asked, he would tell you everything. Derek didn’t bother hiding most of what he said, only kept it vague. The vague could be annoying but it was honest, something you could appreciate about him.

You breathed in the words, letting them churn around in your head. “You can’t always count on feelings, _especially_ negative ones when you’re already in a hopeless place. They do more damage than they’re worth. A lot of times we’re wrong, or it’s not as bad as we imagined.”

He shook his head with a wry smile. “I can feel it. A third of me has been cut out. It’s numb… it’s gone. I feel like dead eyes are staring at me every time I stop moving.” He gulped hard, eyes nearly closed they were in so much pain. “It’s my fault.”

You shook your head with a smile. “You know, I hear that a lot from you guys.” He cocked his head in question. “Something bad happens and it’s suppose to be your fault. From the perspective you weren’t strong enough, or smart enough, or that you weren’t gifted with knowing the damn future.”

You put a hand on his shoulder, an action that always melted away that last bit of barrier for him and made those icy eyes reveal how broken he really was. “We can’t do everything we possibly can and then rake ourselves over the coals for not getting the outcome we wanted. _Especially when we lose someone._ ”

He swallowed thickly, looking back to the ground. It was always easier for him to pretend you were only a voice, but you kept your hand steady, let him know he had _someone_ and not just _something_. “I was suppose to protect her. She counted on me to keep her safe.”

“And you did everything you could. I’m sure she knew you did everything you could, that amount of soul crushing effort doesn’t deserve to be called failure. _Erica’s memory_ doesn’t deserve to be called a failure.”

Derek stiffened at the name, looking at you wide eyed and it only confirmed your suspicion. “Come on Derek, she was with you every time I saw you guys.” he sighed slowly, his discomfort up to a ten, as it always was with everyone when you uncovered something. “Has she really been missing? I haven’t heard about it anywhere.”

“Yeah. Her family wanted to keep it quiet for as long as they could. They’re still hoping to find her soon.”

“But, whatever the reason is for her missing she's…” he nodded sullenly. “Derek I’m-”

“Don’t say you’re sorry.” your hand slipped down into your lap, not sure what else to say. Derek admitted under his breath like he didn’t want you to hear, “I’m not the leader I thought I’d be.”

You didn’t know if you should stay quiet or continue to ramble out ideals in hopes something will click. He was grieving, and it was so hard to know where the lines were. Instead of spewing out more feel good wisdom you sighed, “Derek why don’t you spend the night? I know that’s a weird question coming from someone you don’t know very well, but I think you could use a night off. Maybe I can get you a drink or something to eat-”

“No.” Disappointingly for you he abruptly stood and raised your window, the chill slipping in. “I should get going.” He sat on the sill, his brow low in pondering.

Seeing an opportunity, of what you weren’t sure, you stood and took a few trepid steps. “Derek what brings you to me? I can count on my hand the times we’ve spoken to each other, three of those instances were here, doing this. What brought you here the first time?”

It was rare to see a smile on him. The only one before was the charming one he flashed your mom the first time you had to explain his creepy way of entering a house. But now that he had spoken with you, he was relaxed, he could smile, a real smile. “You want to know the truth. The big secret everyone has but won’t tell you.”

You sighed hard. “Yes and no. I want to know because why wouldn’t I want to know. Everyone keeps showing up bruised and empty inside. I get so worried I cry myself to sleep sometimes but… they also seem to feel safer with me not knowing. It looks like it’s one of the few things that brings them any happiness these days.”

Derek rose from the window to stand before you. There was sympathy on him, a look you weren’t sure how you felt about.

“You have a gift. Almost a, _supernatural_ gift. I have a feeling soon you’re going to know exactly what it means and everyone is going to feel stupid for keeping it from you.” You smiled then, a bashful one that kept to the side. Derek walked back, this time throwing a leg out to signal he was really leaving this time. “Maybe go to the woods alone sometime. You might find an answer there… or more questions.”

He smirked and slipped out into the dark.


End file.
